Other gods

God of the Bible (god) is obsessed with other gods. The Bible is littered with references to other gods, punishing those who bow to them and threatening others who even consider the idea.

The very first of the Ten Commandments kicks off with a reference to other gods; “You shall have no other gods before me”. It carries on in the second commandment referring to manmade images and other forms of worship; making no secrets about the consequences should you fail to comply with this commandment. God, by his own admission, is jealous of other gods.

It appears that whilst these three verses are sheepishly recited daily, the implications associated with such are not seriously considered by those who worship him as the one and only true almighty god. Reading these three verses is hardly convincing of a deity that claims to have created everything, knows everything before it has happened, and ultimately decides who lives and dies.

God’s obsession with other gods is off course no surprise given that the whole concept of god was created and written by humans during a time when the reality of multiple gods were commonly assumed. The constant and obsessive reference to the threat of other gods highlights some fundamental questions that seriously impact on god and the Bible’s credibility:

1.Why does god acknowledge other gods?Why does god mention, let alone acknowledge other gods if he is the master of the universe, as he claims? How can god possibly feel threatened by a carved statue or a mystic manmade sun god, all of which he should know has no super natural powers over any of his creations? Where do these gods come from if god made everything? The list goes on. The answer is simple, the Bible was written by humans who feared gods, for them their god is at the top of the hierarchy, but the existence and powers of other gods are not denied.

2.Why does god forbid the worship of other gods?For the religious the answer seems quite obvious as an unquestioned belief in god, and god alone, is required to enter heaven. However, as an observer, I find it odd that the almighty has to enforce belief in him. Surely the benefits attached to an association with the real god would far outweigh that of any association with one of the lesser third-tier gods. God seems uncertain that a pure belief in him would “sell itself”, as any good product would do. One might be fooled by the ad, but after trying the product one would quickly switch to the real deal. How much more should that not be the case when it comes to worshiping the true and only god as opposed to some third tier non-existent god? Again the answer is simple. Those who wrote the Bible were well acquainted with the reality of worship without any response from their god(s). Knowing the human susceptibility to worship and knowing that the god of the Bible could only offer promises, as all other gods do, any competition had to be eliminated right at the start. No competition would be allowed as that might expose god as yet another of the countless non-existent gods that he is. The concept of threatening with the consequences of non-belief, rather than convince with the benefits of association, was indeed invented at an early stage.

3.Where do other gods come from?If other gods do exist, why did god create them? He created Satan, who many worship, are these other gods referred to in the Bible also his creations? Why would he do that and then forbid his creations to worship these gods? If god didn’t create them, they must be the creation of man, in their minds. Off course we know that god does not exist and neither do any of the other gods referred to. What’s insightful though, is god’s (read Bible writers) admission that one could be worshipping the wrong god and that gods can indeed be the creation of man’s imagination. Off course from a Christian point of view, this could only apply to gods other than the god of the Bible.

The inclusion and reference to other gods in the Bible is confirmation of the human origin of the Bible and its content. There is a clear acknowledgement of multiple gods and that competition between such can only be eliminated through threats of eternal suffering and pain. Nowhere are convincing evidence produced that the god written about in the Bible, is in a league other than that of the gods he so much fear.

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